Good bits: the "it's been a bad time" edition

The funny thing about writing posts like the ones below is how immediately I feel the need to go "no, actually, it's not that bad. Lots of it is pretty good, actually". And so, the good things:

The Laptop: It is shiny, perfect & new, lightyears faster & prettier than the venerable old desktop that has been chugging along patiently for me since early 2001. My favourite thing about it is that I haven't paid for it- kind of what happened was that I looked deeply sceptical of the terms that one of my employers was offering for my new work contract, and in response they went "hey look! We have this new equipment! Why don't you, uh, take this one, and, uh, use it to... work from home." Given that the laptop is essentially mine-all-mine to do with as I please until I part ways with the organisation, and that I have all of two work-from-home hours per week in my new contract, I'm choosing to view it as a please don't leave us bribe. One I've quite cheerfully accepted. The market value of my soul is unfettered personal access to high-end new computer equipment.

The House: The worst of the stress seems to have resolved itself, and really, I love it. It's so much bigger than the old place, and feels so much less like it's about to fall down around our ears. Although my room is still mostly an arrangement of cardboard boxes, I have a beautiful vision of how it will look in a few weeks time. Having space & opportunity to garden has been amazing.

Succulent Lover: God she's awesome. Sometimes life is just life, and lacks any particularly fun gloss, but sometimes it lights up with this blinding, exhilirating brilliance, and to a degree that my cynical (scared) heart resists, that happens with her. More and more. Brighter and deeper.

The Shortbus Soundtrack: I can't even describe in words how perfect this music has been the past week or so, how I'll be walking down the street grinning to myself like a maniac because it's carried me away somewhere beautiful. I want to burn copies for everyone I know, but I'm scared they won't love it as much as I do. I think I love this music even more than I loved the movie.